This app is dead in the water. That doesn't mean it's not gonna provide some usefulness to groups of people, just that a iOS-only, freemium group chat will never reach mass appeal if their goal is to make money off of it.
Yup, the group-chat-thread-first model sounds very interesting
But, iOS only/first is a nonstarter for a huge portion of the population. If they're just trying to experiment is a small pond first to get it right (sort of as a throwaway version), then that is excellent. If they're planning to stay in the Apple walled garden exclusively or as a first-class/peasants model, then, well, good luck with that.
The fine article already mentions in the body and at the summary at the end that an Android client is planned but they have a small team so it will take time:
Wavelength is currently available only for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. An Android app is planned (see next item)
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As mentioned above, Wavelength’s development team is very small. Two people, Henry and Patterson. That puts a limit on how much they can accomplish — hence the lack of an Android app at the moment.
Regardless, I don’t personally have any interest in this App at this time.
I mean, they are two people, and this product just left beta. They certainly need to prioritize. That would be equally true if they'd started with Android.
And it's especially true early in the development of any product, when major decisions are still being made, and even more true when there are sudden bursts of uptake, which can impact infrastructure in unexpected ways, which can then affect architectural decisions about the app.
Trying to do all of that on two platforms simultaneously is almost certainly an unnecessary dilution of effort this early in the development of the product.
That doesn't make Android an afterthought. It just makes it next.
I think you overestimate how huge that proportion of the population actually is. Android users heavily skew older and less interested in technology. Yes there are some tech users who use android for ideological reasons, but they are a small minority.
In terms of addressable market, Android isn’t a stumbling block to begin with.
But, iOS only/first is a nonstarter for a huge portion of the population. If they're just trying to experiment is a small pond first to get it right (sort of as a throwaway version), then that is excellent. If they're planning to stay in the Apple walled garden exclusively or as a first-class/peasants model, then, well, good luck with that.